Google Wallet Adds Card For Payments And Cash Withdrawals

Steve McCaskill is editor of TechWeekEurope and ChannelBiz. He joined
as a reporter in 2011 and covers all areas of IT, with a particular interest in telecommunications, mobile and networking, along with sports technology.

Google Wallet Card aims to make payment system more accessible – but only in the US

Google Wallet users in the US will be able to get a physical payment card to use in shops and restaurants and to withdraw cash from their account using an ATM machine.

The search giant says the Google Wallet card can be used at thousands of MasterCard locations, and payments and withdrawals can be made using cash sitting in their wallet, or from a linked bank account, credit or debit card. The card is free, and can be ordered through the Google Wallet Android app or online.

Google Wallet card

Google says the card is an ideal way to use funds that have not yet been transferred to a bank account, while added security is afforded in the form of notifications to the user’s smartphone.

It is hoped that a physical Google Wallet card will provide a more familiar form factor that will increase the appeal of the platform, which currently allows users to make payments using NFC-enabled smartphones.

It had been suggested the card could debut at the Google I/O Developer Conference in May, but plans were pulled following the departure of Osama Beider, vice president of wallets and payments, while Google CEO Larry Page has apparently been a sceptic of such a solution.

Google Wallet card cannot be used for payments outside the US, and there has been no indication as to when, if at all, the card will reach the UK. At present, Google Wallet can only be used to make purchases on Google Play in the UK, while the Android application is also unavailable.